Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co (Rep. Co's office)

The House Committee on Appropriations is looking at unprogrammed funds in the 2023 General Appropriations Act (GAA) as a possible source of the P2-billion budget that Speaker Martin Romualdez wants to earmark for rice retailers affected by the rice price ceiling. 

Thus, said Appropriations commitee Chairman Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co during a chance interview Tuesday morning, Sept. 5 or just before the start of the panel's deliberation on the Office of the President's (OP) budget. 

On top of this, they are also looking to tap available funds from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for this purpose. 

"We are looking at the unprogrammed [funds] and hopefully, na-check naman na (It has been checked) there’s an available funds. And at the same time meron pang pondo si Sec. Rex [Gatchalian] (There are still funds with Sec. Rex)," Co said. Gatchalian is the DSWD secretary. 

"Unprogrammed Funds" refer to standby appropriations that legislators have included in the GAA that are not supported by a specific source of financing at the time the GAA was approved. The 2023 GAA is worth P5.268 trillion.  

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s Executive Order (EO) No. 39 imposed a P41 per kilo price cap for regular milled rice and P45 per kilo price cap for well-milled rice. The EO was signed amid steadily rising prices of the staple grain, which can reach between P55 to P60 per kilo. 

However, there have been concerns from rice retailers that they could lose money as a result of the price cap, given that the acquisition price of their rice stocks is nearly P50 per kilo. 

On Monday afternoon, Romualdez--leader of the 311-strong House of Representatives--instructed Co to allocate P2 billion for rice retailers' subsidy. 

"The House is considerate, we know the retailers are--kung ano ang nararamdaman nila (we know what they are feeling) so the Speaker gave instructions to the Committee on Appropriations," Co said.